Tag: New York State Senate

The rent might be too damn high for many New Yorkers but not for Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Instead, he's been able to benefit from the so-called "LLC Loophole" to get rent-free office space in Midtown. SL Green, one of the largest landlords in New York, gave Cuomo's campaign office space (valued at approximately $2,640 per…

If it seems like there's a lot of talk recently about corruption in Queens politics, you're right. In the latest news, Queens City Councilmember Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica) is on trial for stealing taxpayer money. He's still running for re-election, though, with the support of the Queens County Democratic Party. Could all this negative news be…

With the state legislative session over for the year, firefighters and other first responders are looking at some victories. The legislature passed bills to provide voluntary firefighters with the same disability benefits that professional firefighters receive and increase disability pensions for airport firefighters. Another bill would also give firefighters who were at the World Trade…

In the closing days of the legislative session, the opioid crisis is turning into the latest flashpoint. State Senate Republicans passed a bill to make it easier for law enforcement to arrest drug dealers and impose longer sentences. Meanwhile, Gov. Cuomo has lined up with the Assembly Democrats in advocating for more treatment, including more…

A coalition of housing groups is planning to camp out to pressure Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop the growing problem of homelessness and take action to protect renters. The groups involved include some of the most active in New York City: Alliance for Tenant Power (an umbrella organization of eight other groups including New York…

It's an exciting time of year: petitioning time! Huh, what's that? As New Yorkers, we're used to people approaching us on the street asking for something. But if you've been confronted recently by clipboard-carriers asking you to sign a petition to get someone on the ballot, that's because it's petition time, the semi-official beginning of…

Mayoral control of New York City schools is set to expire, threatening to plunge the school system into chaos, unless the state legislature passes a law extending the program. However, the Senate GOP threatens to continue mayoral control only if NYC allows more charter schools. They are also pushing to include a tax cut for…

Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched a campaign to go after Republicans. Standing beside House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Cuomo declared that New York would fight back to take back Congress district-by-district. Yet this "New York Fights Back" is an interesting campaign. Why now? For one, Cuomo has not previously expressed much interest in Congress. In 2011, his first year…

The ongoing feud about control of the state Senate took another turn last week. Remind me: what's going on? Even though there are 32 Democrats and 31 Republicans in the Senate, Republicans control the body because nine of the Democrats support the Republican leadership. Eight of the nine are members of the Independent Democratic Conference and…

In November, New Yorkers will vote on whether to hold a constitutional convention (or Con Con, as its been called). For many parts of the state, it'll be the most consequential and contentious election of the year. But what's it all about? A Constitutional Convention? What's that? Remember your old high school history textbook with Washington,…